Forever
by Daniel Song
Summary: A White Day celebration CardCaptors style!
1. Part I

Summary: A White Day celebration – CardCaptors style!

Today, in CardCaptors:            

The latest of Zachary's creative stories serves as the catalyst for much mayhem.  Can Li make White Day a special day for Sakura?  Can Li fight off the advances of Meilin?  Will Sakura spend the day with Li, or Julian?  Will Zachary survive the tortures he receives from Chelsea?  Find out as the characters we know and love struggle through a most unusual day.

**Forever**

Background:     In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated differently than in America.  Valentine's Day in Japan is a day for girls to give gifts to the boys they like.  White Day is the day where the boys reciprocate, giving gifts to the girls they like.

Note: this story is based on the American dub, CardCaptors.  For those not happy with that, feel free to read the Card Captor Sakura version of this story, "Sakura's Heartwarming White Day".  Bonus material is included at the end of this story, where I discuss the creative editing performed by myself (in the spirit of Nelvana) to bring this episode to you.  (Author's note: actually, that's not quite accurate – I wrote this version first, before I knew much about Card Captor Sakura.)

All reviews are welcomed with open arms – including flames!  Bring it on!

I 

'Soon, I'll be home,' Li told himself, as he went through the photographs of his mother and sisters once more.  It had been almost a year since he first arrived at Reedington with the mission to recover the magical Clow Cards – and he was very close to capturing them all.  He was so close that he could almost mark the day on the calendar, buy the plane ticket, and plan his journey home.  Or was he?  Most of the cards didn't belong to him; they belonged to Sakura – and Li couldn't bear the thought of stealing them away from her.  Besides, even if he succeeded in taking the cards, her older brother Tori would make sure that the cards did not stay with him for long.  'And he would probably rearrange a few of my body parts in the process,' Li mused.

'Why do you have to make things so difficult!' Li shouted in his mind.  'If you hadn't come into the picture, I would have gotten them all a long time ago.  You're pathetic, Sakura.'  '_Do you really believe that_?' a voice seemed to be telling him.  Li reasoned, 'Of course I do!  She hasn't captured a card in weeks!  She's really losing it.  The cards are getting away all the time lately.  At this rate, I'll never get all the cards!  I'll never get home…'

Li wanted to remain angry at Sakura, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't stay that way.  He remembered all the adventures they went through, the times that she rescued him, the smile she had on her face as she thanked him, the wonder in her eyes as she encountered new cards, and new magic… and soon, Li's features softened.  He mouthed "Sakura…" as he stared out the window, trying to pick out Sakura's house from among the lights.

He was still looking out the window when the phone rang… and still lost in thought, he momentarily forgot to harden his voice, answering softly, "Hello?  This is Li…"

"Li?  Oh, my little wolf!  How are you doing, darling?"

Li's face fell – and upon hearing the voice, he had no trouble finding the edge in his voice.  "Fine, mother."

"Li, I was just concerned about you.  I miss you.  So, how are you doing?  Have you captured any more cards since last time?"

"No.  But I'll catch them soon."

"That's good.  So, have you been nice to Meilin Rae?"  Li didn't like the tone of her voice.  When she started addressing people by first _and_ last name, it usually meant trouble.

As tempted as Li was, he knew he could not lie – most likely, she knew everything already.  He could only answer: "I try."

"You try?"  She was incredulous.  "Li, isn't it true that you ignore her, don't walk her to school, and you push her away all the time?"

"Uh…  Why did she have to come?  I never asked for it." Li grasped the phone tightly – it was all he could do to prevent himself from throwing it.

"Li," she scolded, before saying gently, "it's just that you're so far away from home, and all alone in a town with strangers… I just thought it would be easier for you… if your friend was there."

"My friend."  Li replied sarcastically.

"Yes, your _friend_.  I know you're busy with school and capturing cards, but that's no excuse.  I just want you to make me this promise: do you promise to spend more time with Meilin?"

"I'll try…"

"Say yes."

"Uh… er… yes…"

"Do you promise to talk to her, and walk her to school everyday?"

This was too much.  Li tried to stall, but his mother continued, "I'm not hanging up until you make this promise."

After a minute Li gave up, and muttered, "OK."

"Good!" she paused, and continued, "Li, I want to tell you something important.  Your friends will always stick by you, they'll help you up when you're down; they'll be there for you, no matter what happens.  I just hope you realize that friends like that are precious, darling.  Treat your friends well, and never let them go – and you'll never regret it."

"Mother… it's not that simple."

"I know, dear – but try your best.  I know you and Meilin haven't always gotten along, but you've always been a friend to her.  Don't give up on it so soon."

"But mom – " Li quickly corrected, "Mother, you have no idea how annoying she can be!"

"Don't worry about it, Li.  When I was your age – " she paused, as a small smile came to her face – "I remember that your father and I used to be the same way.  We used to call each other names, insult each other, and push each other around – but no matter what happened, we always understood that we were best friends.  Over the years, things began to change – and… well…" she broke off embarrassedly.

'What's this queasy feeling in my stomach!  I just wish it would go away…' But Li didn't have much time to recover, since his mother continued,

"Li, remember to be nice to Meilin, OK?  I know she can be demanding sometimes, but be patient, and continue to be her friend.  If you wait for her, she will change… and perhaps your friendship will develop into something even more wonderful, as it was for me and your father…"

"WHAT!"  Li screamed involuntarily.  'It's so – so – disgusting!' he said to himself.  He didn't understand why his face was getting hot, or why his heart was racing – all he knew was that he wanted the uncomfortable feeling to stop.  He was glad that his sisters couldn't see him at the moment, or there would have been no end to their teasing.

Li blanked out for the rest of the conversation.  He vaguely remembered agreeing to _something_, but he couldn't remember what it was.  By the time he hung up, he was fuming.  'I can't believe mom would say something like that!  Ugh!'  It was times like these when he was almost relieved that he was away from home – having to talk to her on the phone was bad enough.  When his mother was actually there in person… Li shuddered, trying his best to forget.

Li stared out the window once more.  "Oh, Sakura…" Li managed to say, before closing the blinds and going through his collection of Clow cards.  'Sakura, you can do it.  We're almost there now.  And then when it's all finished, it will be time to say goodbye…' Li choked up and fought back tears, as he uneasily made his way to bed.


	2. Part II

The next morning, Li was still grumbling about the conversation with his mother from the night before.  'I know I should listen to her, but… she has no idea what I go though!  Doesn't she understand just how demanding Meilin can be!  I can't be safe from her for even one moment!'  In the meantime, Li looked out of all the windows in his apartment, just to make sure that Meilin wasn't there to pounce on him.  Once he was in the clear, he tentatively stepped out and looked around – no sign of Meilin.  Good.  Her mother must have told her to stop following him to school.  It was fortunate that Meilin's mother kept her in line, most of the time; otherwise, there was no telling as to what Meilin might try.  'Thank goodness Meilin's mother has _some_ sense.  Now, as for _my_ mother…' Li thought, as he found himself at the front gate of his school. 

If the first moments of the day were to be any indication, it would seem that the sun had decided to shine on Li that day.  Not only did he lose Meilin, he managed to spot Sakura alone.  After glancing around to make sure that Meilin wasn't around, he went up to Sakura, and she likewise approached him.  They got a little too close, though, and Sakura nervously backed up a step, before asking,

"Li?  Uh… there's something important I wanted to talk you about…" Sakura hesitated, while playing with her hat.

"What." Li responded with a disinterested tone.

"Well, you see, uh… I …" Sakura was finding it difficult to continue, and it didn't help that Li decided to lean just a little closer right at that moment.  She was starting to sweat, her face became flushed, and she started to tremble… and Li was about to place his hand on her arm to comfort her, when…

Click!  The sound of a picture being taken could be heard, soon followed by a blinding flash, causing Li and Sakura to recoil away from each other.  "Madison!  What did you do that for!"  Sakura yelled in frustration.

"Oh, hi, Sakura!"  Madison said innocently, with bright smile.

"Madison, I was so close!  I was about to tell him something very important…"

"Aren't you glad I was here to capture the moment?  You guys look so cute!"

"Madison…" Sakura pleaded.

"Sorry I couldn't get out the video camera in time, but at least I got a great shot in!  This will make a great addition to my web site!"

"Madison, you can't!" Sakura squealed, as she jumped on Madison in a futile attempt to recover the camera.  Li could only shake his head as he walked away.

"Stupid girls," Li muttered to himself.  'That Madison!  She always gets in the way.  Sometimes, she's _almost _as bad as Meilin…' Speaking of Meilin, where was she?  Li hadn't seen her at the gate, which was unusual.  He remembered the times she used wait for him at the gate every day, and grabbed him or jumped on him when he came by.  Well, that is, until Li asked Meilin's mother to stop her from doing this.  'Who cares.  It's not like I want to see her anyway.'  Li convinced himself, but in truth, Li was feeling a little anxious.  Why?  He should have been ecstatic!  Wasn't this what he wanted?  'Well, maybe she's not at school today,' Li finally decided.

Meilin, however _was_ at school; she had just been avoiding him.  And she also avoided him during morning break, talking to Sakura and Madison most of the time.  By lunchtime, Li was starting to lose his patience.  'What is going on?  Then again, why should I care?  Just forget about it!'  Li told himself, but curiosity eventually got the best of him.  When Li spotted Meilin, he pursued her and forcefully called out, "Meilin, what's wrong with you."

But Meilin ignored him, and walked away from him with increasing speed.

"Meilin, stop!  Tell me what's going on," Li ordered.

"Oh, really.  I didn't think you wanted to talk to me.  Isn't that what you told my mother?" Meilin responded spitefully, without bothering to face him.

'OK, maybe I shouldn't have said that…' but there was no way he was going to back down, not until he got to the bottom of this.  "What's your _problem_, Meilin!" Li accused.

"_My_ problem?" Meilin said incredulously.  "Why is it a _problem_?  You always tell me to go away."

"It's about the Clow cards, isn't it.  How many times have we gone over this?  It's too dangerous to hunt for cards unless you have magic!"

"You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you?  It's not just about the cards – it's about all the other times!  You never talk to me, you never let me come over, and you hang up on me all the time.  Not only that, you threw away every single present I ever gave you!  And you're saying that _I _have a problem?"

OK, so she had a point there… and perhaps his mother had a point, also.  Besides, he _had_ given his mother his word.  Though he desperately wanted to say, 'Your presents were stupid, anyway!' instead he bit his tongue and forced out, "All right.  I'll try to make up to you.  OK?"

Meilin suddenly turned around and whispered, "Really?" with a sweet smile.  Oh no, she was a bit too close… much too close…  'Move!' Li told himself, but found himself frozen, as she took hold of his arm…

Rescued!  At that exact moment, Sakura arrived, with Madison nowhere in sight.  Though this wasn't exactly the best timing, Sakura figured she might as talk to Li now, or risk becoming a celebrity on the World Wide Web.

"Li, there's something I want to tell you…" Sakura asked softly.

"Back off, Avalon!" Meilin snarled.  But at that moment Li struggled free, and answered, "Oh, it's you, Sakura.  What do you want?" with a piercing glare.

"Well, uh… did you know that tomorrow was White Day?"

Li and Meilin just shook their heads.

"Err… you see, White Day is a day when… uh…"

"Oh, White Day," someone interrupted.  It was Zachary, with his usual impeccable (?) timing. "White Day is a day when boys are supposed give gifts to the entire class, just like Valentine's Day," Zachary said cheerfully.

"Really?" Li asked, wide-eyed.

"Zachary," Chelsea warned him from behind.

"Well, I guess not _every_ boy does it.  But that's just because they don't know how the tradition got started.  Do you want to know?"

"Yeah…" Sakura and Li answered simultaneously then glanced at each other in surprise.

"It happened several centuries ago.  A samurai warrior had to go off to war, and promised his lady that he would be back as soon as he could.  So she waited for him for years, but he wouldn't come.  Finally, the war ended, and all the soldiers came back, except for the samurai.  She feared for her loved one, and became very sick.  Everyone thought she was going to die."

"How sad…" Sakura sobbed.

"One night in early spring, the weather turned unusually cold, and there was a terrible snowstorm.  In the middle of the night, she passed out, and the doctor said she wouldn't make it through the night.  But by the next morning, she had miraculously recovered.  And when she opened her door, she saw her loved one from a distance, running toward her house, battling through the deep snow.  Once he came back, he spent the entire first day just waiting on her, doing whatever she asked of him.  At the end of the day, he proposed to her… and she kissed him and agreed to marry him.  He became so happy that he gave gifts to all of his friends… and that's how the tradition got started."

There wasn't a dry eye in his audience by the time Zachary finished telling the story, although Li scowled and rubbed his eye violently in a futile attempt to hide his tears.  Zachary continued, "Because of that, they say that if a boy spends the day following the wishes of the girl he really likes, and she kisses him at the end of the day, they will be together forever."

"Really…" Sakura sighed.  "I wish someone would do that for me…"

"You mean, you actually believe that story, Avalon?" Meilin snickered, confidently staring at Chelsea.  But Chelsea herself was wiping tears from eyes, and could only mutter, "That's so sweet…"

Meilin recovered quickly, though.  She took Li's arm and exclaimed, "Li!  That means you get to spend all day tomorrow doing whatever I wish!  Isn't this great?  I knew we were meant to be together forever…"

Li gulped, tore himself from Meilin, and stomped off.  "I have to go now.  Class is about to start," Li blurted out, completely oblivious to the fact that there was a good half hour left in the lunch period.


	3. Part III

After school, Li was thinking about the conversation earlier in the day, as he sat in his apartment – alone, as usual. _"White Day is a day when boys are supposed to give gifts to the entire class…" _Li recalled.  'No way I'm doing something stupid like that,' Li said to himself. Li then turned his mind to the other thing Zachary said: _"…if a boy spends the day following the wishes of the girl he really likes, and she kisses him at the end of the day, they will be together forever."_  'That's completely ridiculous!' Li snickered… but then, why did the image of a certain green-eyed girl appear at that moment?  And why was she getting closer, as she closed her eyes?  Li leaned back, away from the image…

Bang!  The chair toppled over, spilling Li to the floor.  He grabbed his head in pain, as he staggered to get up.  He collapsed onto the chair, and was just making himself comfortable, when…

Ding dong!  "Ugh!" he exclaimed with disdain, as he reluctantly made his way to the door.  He wasn't terribly anxious to answer the door, either, since he had an inkling of who was behind the door.

Li unlocked the door, and quickly hid behind the door as he swung it open.  As a result, the figure that jumped inside ended up grabbing nothing but air.  "Li!" the person shouted with enthusiasm.

"Oh, it's you, Meilin," Li said slowly, with a low voice.  "Why are you here, anyway?"

"Li, cheer up.  Tomorrow is White Day, remember?  So what kind of day do you have planned for me?"

"Meilin," Li warned.

"Oh, it's all right.  I'll find out tomorrow, anyway, right?" Meilin replied, as she took Li's arm.

"Meilin, get off of me!" Li shouted as he struggled free.  "I'm not going to spend tomorrow being your slave."

"Why, so you can serve some other girl?"

"Well, uh…"

Meilin took this chance to take Li's arm again and say, "Well, then, come over to my house and let's talk about it.  My mom is waiting for us outside."

"Stop that, Meilin," as Li again attempted to struggle free, this time with less vigor.  "I have homework to do, you know."

"If that's the case, I can have my mom drop you off at Avalon's place.  Besides, you two _always_ do your homework together, right?"

"No, don't do that!"  Images of Tori threatening him filled his head – the same image that ruined most of his fantasies about Sakura.

"In that case, I can always invite her over to my place, and you two can do your homework there."

"No!  I'm not coming!" Li insisted.  Unfortunately, at that very moment, he was getting in the car, and holding onto Meilin's hand.  He sheepishly let go and sighed.  Things couldn't get worse, could they?

Things settled down once they arrived at Meilin's home.  Without hesitation Li opened up his book bag and started working on his homework, trying his best to ignore the girl sitting across from him.  Time and again she would interrupt him.  The first time, she asked him if he wanted any tea, the second time she wanted to know if he wanted any snacks, and the third time, she asked him if he needed anything.  Each time Li refused, and told her to be quiet so he could finish his homework.  Yet by the time he was done, he noticed that he was surrounded by a cold cup of tea and a plate filled with cookies and fruit.  Meilin was now sitting by his side, staring at him with a sad expression on her face.  Li felt vaguely guilty by now, although technically it was still Meilin's fault since he never agreed to come to her house in the first place.  Nevertheless, Li merely put his books away and crossed his arms without changing his expression, not letting a single word escape his mouth.

Finally Meilin broke the silence.  "Li, what's wrong with you?  Why are you in such a bad mood, anyway!"  Meilin said sharply, in an attempt to cover up her emotions.

"I never asked to come here, Meilin!  Why did you drag me here?"  Li shouted.

"You mean, you don't know?"  Meilin looked and sounded as though she might break down at this moment, and Li leaned back in fear – but she managed to compose herself and continue, "I just thought it would be nice to have you over, that's all.  Especially with Wei (Li's guardian) taking the rest of the day off."

"What are you talking about!  Wei would've told me it that was the case."

"I, uh, your mother thought it would be a good idea if he had a day off.  He's been working hard lately.  So she called him this morning and told him that you would be staying the day at my place."

"Well, she shouldn't have done that!  Why can't you just leave me alone!"  Li yelled.

"Please stop shouting.  I can hear you from all the way down here," Meilin's mother politely requested from her room.

Li sat back in his chair, a little embarrassed, as Meilin's mother came into the living room where Li and Meilin were doing their homework.  Meilin's mother smiled as she commented gently, "It's nice to have you over, Li.  You're welcome to come over as often as you like – I'm sure that Meilin won't mind."

"Mom," Meilin said with a hint of embarrassment.

Meilin's mother continued, "Meilin told me that you wanted to do something for the entire class for White Day – "

"Well, actually…" Li interrupted.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it, Li.  I think that's very nice of you.  Meilin also thought it was a great idea.  So, what was it that you wanted to do?"

"I never said…"

"I know!"  Meilin burst in.  "How about baking cookies for the class!  Mom, you still have that cookie recipe from last time, right?  Those cookies you made for Christmas?"  As soon as her mother nodded, Meilin exclaimed, "Come on, let's do it!" as she grabbed Li and literally dragged him to the kitchen.

"Hey!" Li protested violently, as he looked to Meilin's mother for help, but she was looking the other way – on purpose, no doubt.

'Stupid Meilin.  How do I get forced into these things?' Li complained to himself, as he helped Meilin gather the ingredients.  'Well, I might as well keep an eye on her.  She'll probably mess everything up!'  Much to his disappointment, though, Meilin was doing just fine.  Whenever she wasn't sure about something, her mother stepped in to help.  As Meilin started to mix the ingredients, Li watched closely, looking for mistakes.  When he couldn't spot any, he came closer for a better look.  Drat!  Things were going too well.  'Perhaps if I see it from another angle,' Li thought, as he went to her side and leaned over – and just then, he thought he saw her eyebrows rise just a little.  Had she noticed?  Li quickly took a step back, hoping that Meilin hadn't caught him.  But as she turned and flashed him a bright smile, his hopes crumbled.

The rest of the day wasn't much better.  After the cookies were done, Meilin's mother insisted that he stay for dinner, and after that, he had to stay and help Meilin with the dishes.  After _that_, Meilin asked him for some help on her math homework… was this day ever going to end?  In the meantime, Li called his apartment no fewer five times, but Wei was not there… at this rate, would he have to stay overnight?  Li gritted his teeth – no doubt, such a development would please his mother immensely.

Finally – finally!  Wei answered the phone, once he returned from his 'day off'. It was time to put this miserable stay at an end, as Meilin's mother gave Li a ride back to his apartment.  To Li's considerable dismay, Meilin decided walk him up to the door.  As they were walking, Meilin asked, "So, Li, do you know why I invited you over today?"

"Go ahead," Li replied darkly, crossing his arms.

"Since you're going to spend all tomorrow doing things for me – " here they stopped walking, since they were just outside the door – "I thought… I thought today I could do something for you."

Li felt a little queasy after hearing these comments, made even worse when Meilin threw her arms around him.  She let go before Li could regain his senses and push her away, and went off running while shouting, "You're walking me to school tomorrow, right?  See you at 7:30!"

"I'm not walking to you to school tomorrow!" Li recovered, to no avail – by this time, Meilin was already inside the car.  "You're so impossible…" Li muttered, as he rang the doorbell.


	4. Part IV

As Li headed off to school, _with_ the bag of cookies in his bag – he had forgotten to take them back out – he kept thinking back to the previous day, which he hoped was a very vivid nightmare.  On the other hand, it could have been even worse, like it was back home.  Meilin's mother wasn't that bad, really, compared to his own mother and four sisters.  They used to spend hours just going over pictures of him and Meilin – Li and Meilin practicing Karate, Li and Meilin walking side by side, and their particular favorite: Li and Meilin on a swing, snuggled up against one another (or that's what they claimed: Li could swear that Meilin was the one doing _all_ of the snuggling).  Not only that, they would exclaim, "Ah, don't they look so cute!" whenever he was even in the same vicinity as Meilin, and constantly crack jokes about how he and Meilin would get married someday.  It didn't matter how many times Li told (actually, screamed) them that he did _not_ like Meilin, how hard he tried to scowl whenever she came near, how many times he pushed her away when she tried to hug him, or how long he went without speaking to her.  It seemed like they never got a clue as to how things _really _were.

"Girls." he said to himself, "They're all so dense."  He could just picture Meilin right now, her frustration growing as she waited for him in vain.  "Serves her right," he muttered, as he pictured what she might do when she found out she had been stood up – wait a minute.  His imagination wasn't this good, was it?  That meant… that was the real Meilin?  In a panic he glanced at the street signs, which confirmed his suspicions – he had come the wrong way!  There was one last chance: hope that she hadn't seen him, and walk away.  But before he could do so, she turned around and yelled, "Hey, Li!  I knew you'd come!" as she ran over.  "Did you bring the cookies?" she asked while peeping inside his bag.  "Good!  You remembered!  Let's go!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she took his arm and led him to school.

Somehow, Li got the feeling that this day wasn't going to be much better than the previous one.

Once class started, Li glanced around the classroom – why didn't anyone else bring gifts for the class?  Didn't Zachary say, _'White Day is a day when boys are supposed give gifts to the entire class, just like Valentine's Day.'_  Surely, at least Zachary would have brought something… and while Li was still lost in thought, Zachary announced,"Since today is White Day, I brought presents for everyone."  OK, so at least he wasn't the _only_ one that had brought something. 

He looked on with amusement as Zachary produced a pile of cards and handed a card to each student in the class, conspicuously skipping over Chelsea.  Finally, at the very end, he took out a special card, and walked over to Chelsea's desk.  He paused for a second before handing her the card and saying, "Happy White Day."  Chelsea blushed in response, and her eyes were filled with tears – and she suddenly took his hands and kissed them.

Zachary did the only thing he could.  He yelled out, "I have to go to the bathroom!" before he ran out.

While Zachary was still at the restroom, Meilin nudged Li and whispered, "Hey, Li, isn't it your turn now?"

"Stop it, Meilin," Li answered, "I'm _not _going to do this."  No way, after he saw how Zachary had made a fool out of himself.

"What do you mean, Li?  You said you were going to do it last night!" Meilin said pointedly, unaware that she was no longer speaking in a whisper.

"What is it?" Ms. Mackenzie, their teacher, asked.

Meilin stood up and announced, "Li baked cookies last night!  And he would like to share them with the class!"

Li was practically seething now, though he did not let it show.  Calmly he went to the front of the class and passed out the cookies, one by one.  Things were rather uneventful until near the end.  After giving a cookie to Sakura, he looked back several times to see her reaction – as it turned out, one time too many.  Li was still glancing at Sakura when he passed out a cookie to Meilin.  Meilin wasted no time in placing her hand on top of his and exclaiming, "Thanks, Li!"

Stunned, Li dropped his bag of cookies, and staggered backwards, crushing the bag beneath his foot.  He calmly put the bag in the trash, and walked over to his seat and sat down, pretending as if nothing had happened.  But he couldn't control the fact that his face was currently bright red – which brought whispers and muffled responses from all over the room.  The only consolation Li had now was, at least he wasn't suffering alone.  Li looked over at Zachary (who had returned from the restroom) with sympathy, and counted the minutes remaining until lunchtime.

Ah!  But lunchtime would bring him no relief.  He still felt that burning sensation in his cheeks – why?  Why had he embarrassed himself, in front of everyone?  Why did he bring the cookies in the first place?  He took out his school bag and fumbled for his lunch, when he heard some grass rustling nearby – and his face fell.  He knew who _that_ was.

"Li, eat something.  What's wrong with you?" Meilin asked, while offering some food to Li – who was so downcast, he forgot to make his escape.

"It's your fault, Meilin.  It's all your fault."  Li accused.

"My fault?  Why are you blaming me, Li, for your own problems?"

"First you make me walk you to school, wait, before that, yesterday, you drag me to your house, you get this stupid idea of baking cookies for the class, and then you make me drop the bag.  There, is that enough?"

"Really."  Meilin looked skeptical.  "I thought – I thought you wanted to do all of those things."

"No.  How many times did I tell you, no?"

"But… then… why did you do all of those things for me?  If you didn't, I would have understood."  Meilin looked at him with watery eyes.

Li paused – he wanted to say something cruel, but decided to ignore her instead.  Finally Li said, "Meilin, what's the point of White Day, anyway.  You make me feel like a slave every day."

"You – really think I treat you like a slave?"  Meilin was about to cry at any moment.

Li nodded his head, and turned his face away so he wouldn't have to see Meilin cry.

Meilin barely managed to compose herself and continue, "Li, how - how could you be so mean!  I try so hard to do everything for you."

"Well, stop trying," Li reasoned.

Meilin thought for a moment before giving her answer.  "That's it, Li!  If you're going to be like this, then you don't have to do anything for me anymore.  But today being White Day and all, if you can't be nice to me, then you're going to be nice to someone else.  And I think we both know who that someone else is," Meilin challenged.

Li gulped – for that was very moment that Sakura and Madison walked by.  Meilin placed her hand on his shoulder as she waved to them and called out, "Hey, guys, isn't Li great?  Since today is White Day, Li is eating lunch with me!"

Li buried his face in his hand as Sakura gave them a funny look and walked away, while Madison squealed in delight and started to record them on her video camera.  "Cheer up," Meilin consoled, as she held his chin up.  "You're going to ask Sakura out after school, aren't you?  Come on, let's eat," Meilin said, as she skillfully stuffed a rice ball inside Li's mouth.

Li nearly choked on it, and coughed violently.  'Well, at least I'll get to go out with Sakura now,' Li reassured himself.  'That is, if I can survive these two girls…' he thought to himself, as he glanced at Madison, who was still busy recording away – and at Meilin, who was smiling for the camera.

Once school was over, Meilin had to practically push Li toward Sakura.  "Come on, Li.  You can do this.  All you have to do is to go over to her and ask.  You remember your lines, don't you?" Meilin encouraged.

Bravely, Li took a few steps toward Sakura.  Luckily, Madison wasn't anywhere to be seen, so he decided to just go for it.  "Sakura," Li started – then paused.  Was his tone too harsh?  Was this part of the script Meilin had him memorize?

"What is it?" Sakura asked earnestly, as she stared into his eyes with those sparkling emerald eyes of hers… wait a minute.  What was that rustling noise?  Was that Madison again?  Just then, another breeze kicked up, producing a similar noise – and Li decided that his mind was playing tricks on him.  'Come on, you can do this.  It was easy when you were going over your lines with Meilin.'

"Uh… Er…" Li continued to struggle, when Julian (Tori's best friend) came by.  That was the end for poor Li, as his trail of words hit a dead end.  To make things worse, Julian casually walked up to Sakura and asked, "Hey, Sakura, do you want to get some ice cream?  Your brother wanted to take you himself – but he has to work late tonight."

"Sure!" Sakura squealed with delight, practically jumping up and down.  "I want to try the new triple-scoop fudge-covered ice cream sundae!"

"Hey, Li, Meilin, do you guys want to come along?"  Julian offered.  Meanwhile, Meilin was nudging him from behind and whispering, "Do it.  Just go."

Color drained out of Li's face as he fled in terror.  "Wait, Li!" Meilin called.  "I'm sorry about that.  You guys just go ahead, we'll catch up with you," Meilin apologized to Julian, then caught up to Li.  "What's wrong with you, Li!" Meilin scolded.

"You wouldn't understand, Meilin.  You don't have any magic!"

"Li… what's wrong?" Meilin asked softly, while putting a hand on a shoulder in an effort to comfort him.

Li brushed her hand off before answering, "N- Nothing.  Never mind.  Just leave me alone," he requested, before slowly making his way home.  'Why is she following me?' he wondered as he glanced back, but never bothered to send her away.


	5. Part V

While Li worked on his homework at his desk, Meilin sat on his bed, throwing worried glances at his way: Li had forgotten to kick her out.  After a little while, Meilin started her own homework, but stopped without making much progress.  Suddenly, Meilin broke the silence as she spat out, "Li, you're such a coward."

"Fine," Li quipped before resuming his homework.

"Li, I can't believe you'd just give up like this.  This isn't you.  If there is one thing you have, it's determination.  Once you see a goal, you would never let anything get in the way.  So just snap out of it!"

"Forget about it," Li answered, not taking his eyes off of his homework.

"I'm not giving up on you, Li, no matter what.  So you're coming with me," Meilin ordered while dragging him out of his chair.

"What are you doing, Meilin!  Let go of me!" Li protested.  'I can't believe her nerve!  Does she think she can just push me around?'  Eventually, though, he gave in… for the sake of Sakura.  He had to admit that he had absolutely no clue as to what he should do… and thus he bit his lip as Meilin called her mother, and she gave them a ride to the mall… as they looked in the gift shop, and picked out a present for Sakura…  

After dinner, Li's mother gave them a ride to Sakura's house.  'This is it.  This is my last chance.  If I am going to make this White Day a special one, this is my last hope… So you better not blow it, Li Showron!  Now what was I supposed to do?  Help!'

"This isn't very hard," Meilin instructed Li, while they were still inside the car, parked just outside Sakura's home.  "You just go up to the door, ring the doorbell, and ask for Sakura.  Then you give her the present, and tell her, 'This is your White Day present.'  Then you talk to her for a while.  Got that?  Once you're done, just call my mom and she'll drive you back."

Li said to himself, 'Yeah, right.  It's easy for _you_, since you're not the one that is actually doing it.'  He was tempted to stay inside the car, but Meilin gave him a glare and pushed him out, spilling him on the sidewalk.  Before he could scramble back inside, Meilin slammed the door shut, and the car left.  'Here goes nothing,' he said to himself, as he checked inside his school bag to see that the present was still there.

The first few steps were easy: he rang the doorbell, found out, much to his relief, that Tori wasn't home, and went upstairs to Sakura's room.  But the level of difficulty soon escalated, as Li was greeted with…

"What are you doing here so late, _kid_," Kero said.

"It's none your business, stuffed animal.  I just want to talk to Sakura about something."

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"You little toy, can't you just go away for a while?  I need to talk to Sakura alone."

"If it's about Clow Cards, then I'm staying right here," Kero insisted.

"This isn't about Clow Cards.  This is personal.  That means you – " Li swatted his hand near Kero, motioning him to leave – "better butt out."

"Fine, I can take a hint.  But if you do anything to Sakura, you better watch your back," as Kero opened the window and flew to a nearby tree.

When Kero was gone, Sakura asked, "So, what was it that you wanted to say?"

"Um…"

"Did you want to talk about today?  I'm sorry," Sakura apologized.

"Meilin has a way with things, doesn't she?  Always making a mess out of everything.  Sometimes, I just wish she would just go away."

Sakura began to feel a little anxious – something wasn't right.  She ventured, "Was that the reason you didn't come to the ice cream shop?"

"No."

"What is it, then?"

Li gave no answer.  The pause lasted several minutes before Sakura asked, "It's about Clow Cards, isn't it?"

"Not exactly…"

"Li, are you leaving?" Sakura finally ventured.

"What?"  The question hit him by surprise.  The truth was that he dreaded going back, where his mother and sisters would be all too eager to pair 

him up with Meilin.  Not to mention the endless training exercises he had to do, and all the clan duties he had to perform.  Li answered as honestly as he could: "Not yet.  Not until all the Clow Cards have been captured."

"But you can't stay here forever.  Besides, I could try capturing them on my own."

"No, your magic is too weak!  You'll never be able to capture all of the cards by yourself.  I have to stay until all of them have been captured."  Li stopped pacing around the room and sat on Sakura's bed, next to Sakura.

"That means you could be staying here forever," Sakura commented.

Li turned to face Sakura and told her, "If it takes forever, I'll stay forever."

At these words, Sakura turned to face Li, with tears in her eyes.  "Li…" she trailed off, while wiping off her tears.

Li turned his face away and closed his eyes.  He could feel her breath on his face, which made him anxious… and then he was jolted as he felt her lips on his cheek.  Reflexively he jumped up and wiped his cheek.  "I have to go now," Li announced, "it's late."

With these words he grabbed his bag, rushed downstairs to make a quick phone call, and ran outside, slamming the door shut.  'This was a _bad_ idea, Meilin!' Li said to himself.  He took out the present from his bag, useless now – and impulsively tore away at the wrapping, revealing a small teddy bear.  'It was a stupid present anyway,' he told himself, tossing the bear back into the bag.  But then, he remembered… he remembered that Sakura had kissed him.  What had Zachary said?  _"…if a boy spends the day following the wishes of the girl he really likes, and she kisses him at the end of the day, they will be together forever."_  That meant… that meant… 'That means Sakura will never capture all of the cards,' Li tried to tell himself.  Yet… what did she mean when she kissed him?  Li now caressed the cheek he had so impulsively wiped a moment ago, and with his other hand, took the bear out of the bag again.  'I promise, one day, I'll give you this present…'

Li dropped the bear into his bag, and sat down on the sidewalk.  'Why, Sakura, why?  Why couldn't I just tell you right there… why did I run?'  Nothing mattered now, nothing!  Sakura would never forgive him, not after what had just happened… not after what he had done.  All he had to do was to… well, there were a number of things he could have done.  But because of the one thing that he _did _do, he had lost her… he had lost her for good.  Only if he had the power to turn _back _time… but now it was too late.

As Li saw his vision cloud over, he rubbed his eyes, and found them to be moist.  'Don't cry, Li.  Only babies cry.'  Yet the harder he tried to stop himself from crying, the greater the pressure became – and now Li was finding it more difficult to swallow.  'Why… why do things like this always happen to me?'  Li closed his eyes tightly, in a stubborn effort to keep the tears falling, and everything turned black.

But wait, was there a light?  As Li squinted in the face of a near-blinding light, he noticed the outline of a figure approaching him.  Was it an angel?  A friend?  'Neither', he decided, as he saw the figure more clearly, and saw it as Meilin.  'I can't let her see me like this!  Run away, don't let her see you like this!'  Li started to, but then the dam broke loose, and his tears began to flow freely.  He felt ashamed of himself, even more so when Meilin whispered, "I'm sorry, Li… I'm sorry I put you through this."  Why did his speech and his body fail him at this moment?  Why couldn't he say something like, 'You better be sorry.  It's your fault, Meilin!'  And why did he let Meilin, of all people, put her arms around him?  It wasn't supposed to be like this!  Why couldn't he muster the feeling of revulsion, and push her down, as she deserved?  Why, instead, did he feel his tears dry up, his pulse slow down, and the pain in his throat disappear?  Why did he feel warmth radiating from the inside… as he felt his eyes starting to close?

Suddenly, Li's eyes popped open.  He thought he had seen something move, out of the corner of his eye – was it from Sakura's room?  Had she seen it?  How much had she seen?  No!  She couldn't have!  She would misunderstand; she would never know how he really felt about her… Li never felt as helpless as he did at this moment, as he looked back at Sakura's window… and continued to stare at it from the car window, as the image grew smaller…

As the image finally disappeared, Li put his hand by his side, feeling for the bear that he had taken out of his bag – the bear meant for Sakura, but never given.  But as he did so, he heard a slight gasp – and he realized that instead of finding the bear, he had instead found Meilin's hand.  No!   Nothing but rotten luck today, and it was all Meilin's fault!  Why couldn't she just leave him alone?  Why couldn't he just get rid of her?  He wished he had never known her…

'I just hope you realize that friends like that are precious, darling.'  Isn't that what his mother had said?  Boy, that showed how much she knew.  Some 'friend' she was.  She was so loud, so obnoxious, so annoying… and on top of that, she had ruined his day!  'Be patient… if you wait for her, she will change…' Like that would ever happen!  Just how clueless could his mother be?  'And perhaps, your friendship will develop into something even more wonderful…' Li's heart jumped.  No!  That certainly wasn't going to happen; he would die first!

Ah, but if that was truly the case, then why was he still holding onto Meilin's hand?


	6. Bonus Material

I hope you also read my Card Captor Sakura story, "Sakura's Heartwarming White Day".  This is the Cardcaptors version of the same story, written in the spirit of Nelvana.  Maybe, just maybe, they're getting a bad rap – after all, Cardcaptors isn't _that_ bad, if you forget about the fact that Card Captor Sakura exists.  And some of their editing may have been justified.  After all, Card Captor Sakura _is_ a cartoon targeted for young audiences, so you can't really include some of the more questionable material that CLAMP is well-known for…

So I'll try my best to explain the changes that Nelvana made, and why they made them.

**Scene I**

**Card Captor Sakura version:** 

In the opening scene, Sakura is thinking about White Day, which is coming up in a couple of days… and wondering what the family will do.  Her dream comes true, as Yukito comes over and makes plans to spend the day with her.

However, Syaoran and Meiling are also on her mind, as she realizes that this will be the only time she will be able to spend White Day with them.

**CardCaptors**** version:** 

Though there was nothing really inappropriate about this first scene, we felt that this scene was a little slow – young people found this scene boring, as we found out in a test screening.  Plus, we wanted this show to appeal to both boys and girls, so we wanted to bring Li more into the forefront.  So we found the perfect clip from another episode, and used it for this one.  We really had fun creating this first scene – we got a lot of laughs out of it.

**Scene II**

**Card Captor Sakura version:**

We start as Sakura rollerblades to school, still on cloud nine following yesterday night's events.  She has a mostly good day at school, but can never find the right time to ask Syaoran and Meiling to spend White Day with her.

**CardCaptors**** version: ** 

It was really important to preserve continuity from the first scene, so we borrowed a few seconds of footage and added some voiceovers.  But besides that, we think the scene worked.  Nikki – oops, Sakura – is her energetic self; Madison is a really cool person that everyone would like to hang out with, and Li and Meilin have such an interesting relationship.

**Scene III**

**Card Captor Sakura version:** 

After Sakura comes home from school, she enjoys dinner with Touya and Yukito.  They talk about what happened during the day, and what they'll do for White Day.

**Cardcaptors**** version:** 

This scene _was_ in the original, and was a late cut from the TV version of Card Captor Sakura – you'll be able to see the complete version of the episode if you purchase the Card Captor Sakura DVD.  We're not sure why this scene was cut, because it does a great job of showing how close Li and Meilin are.  It's amusing to see Li squirm when Meilin is around – we think we know the reason; do you?

The scene from Card Captor Sakura was also a good scene, but we had to make some tough choices to fit the episode within the given time frame.  Look, _you_ try fitting a 24-minute episode into an 18-minute time frame.  It's not easy, I'm telling you.

**Scene V**

**Card Captor Sakura version:**

Sakura and Yukito have a good time at the mall after school.  Yukito stays for dinner, and gives Sakura and her father a gift – a box of white chocolates.

After Yukito leaves, Syaoran comes – a time that turns out to be rather awkward and painful, as both of them sense that Syaoran's stay in Japan is near an end.

**CardCaptors**** version:**

What a sweet ending… as Li finally figures out what is really important to him.  And what is that?  Well, that's a secret.  If you buy the Cardcaptors DVD and watch the episode a few more times, you just might be able to figure it out.

The Card Captor Sakura ending was nice, but it was a little sad… and didn't fit as well with the story that we had been building up to this point.


End file.
